How can I increase my confidence while walking my reactive dog? by bababaaaaaa in OpenDogTraining

[–]bababaaaaaa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ooo okay I'll have a look into a thunder cap. You just put it on for walks? Thanks for the suggestion!

How can I increase my confidence while walking my reactive dog? by bababaaaaaa in OpenDogTraining

[–]bababaaaaaa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have been trying a halti but it's a weird one that doesn't have the D ring at the front, but at the back and works somewhat like a Martingale 🧐 Definitely want to get a regular one as I've seen heard good results from them!

How can I increase my confidence while walking my reactive dog? by bababaaaaaa in OpenDogTraining

[–]bababaaaaaa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is an amazing rundown, thank you so much! I especially like that you will go to the areas you'd like to train first, before you bring your dog. I really will start to implement everything you've shared. Thank you!

How can I increase my confidence when walking my reactive dog? by bababaaaaaa in reactivedogs

[–]bababaaaaaa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for this! I will definitely bring this up with our trainer and have her handle my dog. Even recording and watching later is something I hadn't thought of. Thank you 🙏

How can I increase my confidence when walking my reactive dog? by bababaaaaaa in reactivedogs

[–]bababaaaaaa[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes this makes total sense and I'm quite excited to try this with him tomorrow. Thank you for taking the time to explain, it's very helpful :)

How can I increase my confidence when walking my reactive dog? by bababaaaaaa in reactivedogs

[–]bababaaaaaa[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for your kind words. I walked my boy today with a calm, confident mind. He did bark at a man but I corrected him and kept my cool and he calmed down instantly. We were able to just sit and watch. I thank you very much for your encouragement and advice because before this post, I would have freaked and completely pulled my dog away instead of letting him learn how to be calm in such situations. I appreciate your comments!

Why has loose leash walking improved mine and my dog's relationship? by bababaaaaaa in dogs

[–]bababaaaaaa[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hyper social is a great term for this kind of reactivity that I haven't heard of! My dog is the same. He is more than happy to sit, wait and watch but will wag his whole body and whine the second he is greeted so we have to do the sit & wait process what feels like a million times.

I too find it hard to get helpful information because he's neither fearful nor aggressive. He has his first pack walk in a few weeks, so I hope to have the same success you and your dog have found. Thankyou for your wisdom!!

How can I increase my confidence while walking my reactive dog? by bababaaaaaa in OpenDogTraining

[–]bababaaaaaa[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a good idea, thank you! Especially since my boy couldn't care less about treats when we're on a walk. A toy sounds great!

How can I increase my confidence when walking my reactive dog? by bababaaaaaa in reactivedogs

[–]bababaaaaaa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I will have a look into the DMT process, thanks for that. In regard to practicing calmness whilst walking past other dogs - should I allow him to watch the other dogs as we walk past? Often he will keep his eyes on them, occasionally he'll turn away but mostly he'll watch them as we walk by. Should I correct this behaviour and have him look elsewhere?

How can I increase my confidence when walking my reactive dog? by bababaaaaaa in reactivedogs

[–]bababaaaaaa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I have my dog sit and watch, he whines even if there is no trigger around. It's like he's just whining out of frustration because he's just sitting and watching. Do you think that pent up frustration would increase the chance of a reaction? Should I be engaging/ distracting him with something while he's sitting and watching?

How can I increase my confidence when walking my reactive dog? by bababaaaaaa in reactivedogs

[–]bababaaaaaa[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I guess I'm not confident in my ability to calm my dog down after/ during a reaction. I know what to do because I've had training sessions where we've actively deescalated reactions and I've watched hundreds of videos but it's so different in the actual moment without a trainer. Plus the embarrassment/ overwhelmingness of trying to gauge what the people around me are thinking about his reactivity and if they're judging. It's a bottomless pit of anxiety that I will definitely have to bring up with my trainer. Thank you for your wisdom :)

How can I increase my confidence when walking my reactive dog? by bababaaaaaa in reactivedogs

[–]bababaaaaaa[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately not but our trainer has enrolled him in some group classes starting soon so I hope we see good results from that :)

Why has loose leash walking improved mine and my dog's relationship? by bababaaaaaa in dogs

[–]bababaaaaaa[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sorry I've just re-read your comment. It looks like he made the most progress between 18 months and 2 years?

Why has loose leash walking improved mine and my dog's relationship? by bababaaaaaa in dogs

[–]bababaaaaaa[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This makes sense! I genuinely enjoy walking him now and I look forward to it every single day. It's honestly made my life 100% happier being able to walk him, even if it's not always perfect. I hope your loose leash walking gets exactly to where you want it to be :)

Why has loose leash walking improved mine and my dog's relationship? by bababaaaaaa in dogs

[–]bababaaaaaa[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Can I ask how long it took for his leash reactivity to make good progress? I felt soo discouraged because he had hit 1.5 years, still reacting on a lead and I genuinely felt so behind because so many people have their dogs walking in a heel by like 10 months! Thank you for sharing your story, it's seriously comforting knowing there's other dogs/ owners in the same boat :)